ADA Newsletter- May 2020
Dear ADA Members and Friends,
The COVID 19 pandemic has claimed 400,000 lives globally since it surfaced late last year and went on to ravage countries across the world that are now attempting to revive economies battered by the lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of this virus that causes the disease.
Some governments, however, are using this situation to further crackdown on democratic voices. CSOs are concerned about the use of emergency measures to limit and impede their work in promoting rights. Besides, there are also worries about the economic fallout of the crisis and capacity to provide services for marginalized and vulnerable populations and to engage with governments and institutions to secure rights-respecting responses.
An urgent and comprehensive public debate and transparent consultations on exit strategies and recovery measures are highly needed. The question of whether recovery will lead to more inclusive, just, sustainable, and democratic societies depends fundamentally on the participation of civil society in this process which remains a challenge.
Hence, please feel free to share your concerns and opinion and how can we move further, by writing to ADA secretariat and share updates should you wish them published in our monthly newsletter apart from giving your suggestions on how to improve our communication with you at ada2030.secretariat@gmail.com
In solidarity,
Jyotsna Mohan
Coordinator - ADA
Table of Contents
7th Asia – Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD -7)
FONGTIL Team Supports The Government On The Covid-19 Prevention – Timor Leste
South Asia CSOs Statement on COVID 19 updated
COVID-19 Exposes Singapore’s Shame
CSOs response on COVID-19 in Nepal
Mongolian CSO’s Response on COVID
Japan’s CSOs Response on COVID
Philippines: CODE-NGO Statement on COVID-19 Response
Pakistan : Pakistan Development alliance (PDA) Response to the COVID-19
CSOs Response to COVID-19
Worth a Read!!!
APRCEM Position Paper to HLPF 2020
?Korean Civil Society Contribution Report for 2020 HLPF
The Economic Impact of COVID 19 in South Asia
Asia Pacific SDGs Progress Report 2020
The Impact and Policy Responses for COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific
A small Spark of hope for bipartisan cooperation in SDGs
Global Indicator Framework on SDGs: update and CSO perspectives
Action Please!!!
Coronavirus Map: Tracking the Global Outbreak.
UN DESA: 2020 HLPF Update
For Your Endorsement!!
Stand in Solidarity with Code-NGO (Philippines) Statement Against Anti-Terrorism Bill 2020
Calendar
The Seventh Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, organized by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), was held on 20 May 2020. Due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, it was a fully virtual event, using the KUDO platform. More than 730 participants registered for the event, including representatives of Governments, intergovernmental organizations, United Nations bodies, international organizations, civil society organizations and other entities.
The theme of the 7th APFSD is “Accelerating action for and delivery of the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific”. The Forum was organized using videoconference modality.
The CSOs from across the Asia-Pacific region participated through Asia Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism.
7th APFSD Full Report
Timetable and watch Recordings
Statements by major groups during APFSD 7
Indigenous People – Agenda Item 2
Indigenous People – Agenda Item 3
LGBTIQ
Local Authoritie
Older Persons Constituency
APRCEM
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)
As an umbrella organization, FONGTIL has been affected by the pandemic and by the government’s consequent restrictions. We changed the way we work and now we work remotely from home, limited interaction with our members. And we have even halted some activities.
CSO in general have scaled or reduced their organization activities due to the COVID 19 outbreak in Timor-Leste and the government’s consequent restrictions. For example public transport was brought halt and limited personnel movement. This means a lot of people will go without accessing services from CSOs due to transport challenges couple with increased cost.
This has also fuelled domestics violence and conflicts with the families due to reduced family income because many people are not working.
People with disabilities have been tried to include them in the national response but some section of people lack information about covid-19. This implies that the information provided by governments and institutions both to prevent infection and to know how to act in case of illness must be available in accessible formats, including sign language, video captioning, the use of alternative text in images and graphics displayed digitally, and easy-to-read versions.
Full report here
In order to highlight the work that civil society organizations are doing on the ground, and the value added that they bring to the global response to the pandemic, we want to invite you to share your stories with us. Whatever the area of work of your organization, we believe that our common purpose will lift us during this difficult time, and that we can learn from and build on each other’s efforts. If your organization has been active in identifying or meeting the needs arising from COVID19 in your community, please follow this link and share your experiences, photos and videos with us so we can highlight your learnings.
Submit your story
Click to review civil society stories we have received
There are no new updates to this weekly email but please take note of the processes marked with [final call].
HLPF Format
The [2020 HLPF Programme] has been released and is available for you download from the 'Latest' column of the HLPF 2020 website. The 2020 HLPF will most likely be virtual.
Funding
Due to the likely virtual format of the 2020 HLPF, there will not be funding allocated to support travel of MGoS representatives at the 2020 HLPF.
Registration
Registered participants will be able to attend the virtual meetings. Others will be able to follow the meeting through UN Web TV or YouTube. Further details on the process will be shared soon.
New Stakeholders Webpage
UN DESA has created a 'Stakeholders' page which is accessible from the HLPF 2020 navigation bar. It contains information on engagement and participation at the 2020 HLPF.
Ministerial Declaration [update]
All documentation can be found in the Library section of the Stakeholders, 2020 HLPF website. Three meetings of informal consultations will take place on:
Monday, 8 June 2020 @ 3pm EDT (New York time)
Tuesday, 16 June 2020
Tuesday, 23 June 2020
Participation
1 representative from each of the MGoS will be invited to the meeting to represent each Group. Each MGoS Group will nominate their representative. Please note that the informal consultations will not be broadcast on UN Web TV. Notetakers should be advised that the consultations will take place under Chatham House Rule.
Oral Statements
3 representatives will be invited to make statements on behalf of the MGoS. The nomination process will be conducted by the MGoS CM Advocacy Task Group.
Written Statements
Each MGoS Group may submit a written statement of key messages (1 page). These should be sent to desa-oisc2@un.org on Monday, 8 June 2020 by 1pm EDT (New York time). Please await further instructions from your MGoS Group.
Lead Discussants - Official Thematic Sessions
UN DESA will be requesting 11 Lead Discussants from the Major Groups and other Stakeholders to participate in the official thematic sessions of the 2020 HLPF.
Each of the MGoS will conduct its own process to nominate Lead Discussants. These nominations will then be reviewed by the Steering Group of the MGoS Coordination Mechanism. A slate of nominations will be submitted by the Steering Group to ECOSOC for review. Please do not contact UN DESA directly to submit a nomination, await instruction from your Major Group and/or Stakeholder Group about its own nomination process.
The deadline to submit the slate of nominations to ECOSOC will be on Monday, 22 June at 12pm EDT (New York time). Please note that the deadlines for the MGoS' own nomination processes will conclude much earlier than the date above and may differ between each Group.
Stakeholder Perspective - Official Thematic Session
The MGoS Official Session is listed in the 2020 HLPF Programme on Tuesday, 7 July 2020 from 5 - 6pm EDT (New York time). The title of the session is: Transformative pathways to realize the 2030 Agenda: a whole of society approach taking into account the impact of COVID19 (Stakeholder perspective). UN DESA will be working with the MGoS Coordination Mechanism Steering Group to organise the session. You will be able to view the session on UN Web TV or YouTube.
Reports
Executive Summaries
The deadline for the executive summaries of the MGoS Sectoral Position Papers has passed. An advance unedited version of the compilation of the executive summaries of the position papers on the theme of the HLPF, submitted by MGoS, can be found here: E/HLPF/2020/2
Sectoral Position Papers
The deadline for the MGoS Sectoral Position Papers (in full) has passed. We are very grateful for all of the submissions from the MGoS. These reports will be reviewed and posted as inputs on the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform
Paragraph 89 Reports [final call]
The soft deadline for MGoS Paragraph 89 reports was on Monday, 1 June. Please submit any outstanding reports as soon as possible to bekelee@un.org. These reports will be reviewed and posted as inputs on the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform
Side Events & Exhibitions
All Side-events and Exhibitions will be held virtually. The deadline to submit an application has now passed. Further information can be found under Other Events on the HLPF 2020 website.
Library
The ‘Library’ section on the ‘Stakeholders’ page of the HLPF 2020 website has been updated with the following documentation:
Letter from Co-Facilitators Ministerial Declaration HLPF 27 May 2020
Zero Draft of the Ministerial Declaration HLPF 27 May 2020
Please check the website for more information: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2020#other
2020 VNR Countries from Asia and Pacific
Bangladesh*, Brunei Darussalam, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India*, Kyrgyz Republic, Micronesia, Nepal*, Papua New Guinea, Samoa*, Solomon Islands, Uzbekistan
| 2020 |
2021 |
| |
First Time (27) |
Second and more times (23) |
|
| Asia |
Brunei Darussalam,
DPR of Korea (North)
Uzbekistan, |
Bangladesh,
India,
Nepal, Kyrgyzstan,
, |
China*
Bhutan*
Lao People's Democratic Republic*
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Thailand*
|
| Pacific |
Micronesia(FSM),
Papua New Guinea (PNG)
Solomon Islands, |
Samoa, |
Marshall Islands
|
| MENA |
Syria |
Jordan,
Qatar, |
|
| Africa |
Burundi, DR Congo, Gambia, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Seychelles, |
Monaco, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
|
Zimbabwe*
|
| LAC |
Bolivia, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, |
Argentina, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Peru, |
Bolivia
|
| Europe |
Austria, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine |
Armenia, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Monaco, Slovenia |
Spain*
Germany*
Slovakia*
Czech Republic*
|
| Eastern Europe and CIS |
the Russian Federation, |
|
|
| 2020 UN Ocean Conference (Preparatory Meeting) |
New York |
4-5 February 2020 |
| Goal 16 Technical Workshop, Global Alliance |
Copenhagen, Denmark |
5-7 February, 2020 |
| ADA General Assembly |
Kathmandu, Nepal |
Postponed |
| Kathmandu Democracy Forum |
Kathmandu, Nepal |
Postponed |
| Asia Pacific CSO Forum on Sustainable Development |
Bangkok, Thailand |
Postponed |
| 53rd ADB Annual Meeting |
Seoul, S. Korea |
Due to COVID situation- now nnly be for Governors through their designated representatives based in Manila. |
| UN People’s Forum for the UN We Need |
Online |
May 14-15 |
7th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development 2020
|
Bangkok, Thailand and Virtual |
May 20 |
| 2020 UN Ocean Conference |
Lisbon, Portugal, |
Postponed |
| High Level political Forum |
New York, USA, Mostly Virtual |
07-14 July 2020 |
| Tokyo Democracy Forum |
Tokyo, Japan |
October 2020 |
| World Human right Cities |
Gwangju, S. Korea |
September 2020 |
| Busan Democracy Forum |
Busan, S. Korea |
14-16 October 2020 |
| COP 26 |
|
Postponed |
| ASEAN-Europe Summit |
Cambodia |
Postponed |
| 16+ Forum Annual Showcase |
Costa Rica, S America |
7-10 December |
- ADA's official website has been renewed. All the information related to the implementation of SDGs in Asia and actions conducted by Asian CSOs will be accumulated on this website. Please visit www.ada2030.org
- ADA's Facebook page has been activated! The page will channel useful information among civil society actors in Asia. Feel free to tag @Asia Development Alliance in future collaboration. The page is accessible with this web address: https://www.facebook.com/ada2030/
- ADA Twitter account @alliance_asia
|
